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Religious tensions high in Nigeria after massacre

14 Mar 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The land and its produce figure prominently in Israel's desert sojourn as described in this Sunday's reading from the Book of Joshua. Conflicts over land in Nigeria are partly blamed for religious tension that led to the March 7 massacre of close to 500 Christians at the hands of ethnic Fulani Muslims. Rampaging Fulani herdsmen reportedly used machetes to kill the mostly ethnic Berom victims overnight, including many women and children, in three farming villages near the city of Jos in Plateau state. About 75 houses also were burned. Plateau state lies in Nigeria's "middle belt" and has dozens of ethnic groups living in near proximity to each other. Plateau is predominantly Christian in a country almost evenly divided between Muslims in the north and Christians in the south. The area has been the site of intense clashes over land, and Jos has been under a military curfew since more than 300 people--mostly Muslims--were killed in religious-based violence in January. Officials speculate the March 7 attack was in reprisal for the January violence. Gabriel Osu, the Catholic archbishop of Lagos, said the Sunday killing is a major setback for the country's effort to gain the confidence of the international community. "Do you know that because of things like these, anywhere Nigerians travel to they are subjected to dehumanizing scrutiny?" he said. "Any act of violence at this time is totally condemned, and the government should make haste to fish out all identified perpetrators of such heinous crimes against God so that we can move forward as a people united under one umbrella," Osu said. International observers have called on the government to tackle the root causes of the ethnic tensions, which have seen thousands killed here in recent years. The U.N.'s human rights chief Navi Pillay said: "What is most needed is a concerted effort to tackle the underlying causes of the repeated outbreaks of ethnic and religious violence . . . namely discrimination, poverty, and disputes over land." Source: Articles by Aminu Abubakar for Agence France Press, Associated Press, and Compass Direct News

Muslims plateau jos berom fulani nigeria massacres christians navi pillay gabriel osu

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Christian persecution continues worldwide

15 Jan 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

On his way to becoming a prophet, young Samuel learned how to hear and respond to the call of God, we learn in Sunday’s first reading. In many countries, Christians who dare to do the same openly risk persecution. The international Christian organization Open Doors released its annual World Watch List this week, naming the 50 countries where it says Christians face the worst persecution--and the situation is not improving. For the tenth year running North Korea topped the list. Christianity has been driven so far underground in North Korea, Open Doors said, that parents wait until their children are old enough to understand the dangers of practicing their faith before teaching them about it. The organization also estimated that between 50,000 and 70,000 Christian are currently interned in labor camps in North Korea. For the first time in the 20 years the list has been compiled, the situation for Christians did not improve last year in any country, Open Doors said. Christians also are under attack in Nigeria, where the radical Muslim Boko Haram sect killed 44 people after it promised to murder Christians living in the predominately Muslim north of the country. Speaking Saturday to journalists, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, vowed the group's members would adequately protect themselves from the sect. He declined to offer specifics, raising concerns about retaliation. "We have decided to work out means to defend ourselves against these senseless killings," Oritsejafor said. He added: "We cannot sit back and watch people being slaughtered like animals every day, going to the church, shooting people, killing them. This is unacceptable." In Egypt, Coptic Orthodox Christians last weekend celebrated their first Christmas since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak and an escalation in violence associated with the growing power of Islamists. Celebrations of Orthodox Christmas began amid tight security and a show of national unity. Mass at Cairo's main cathedral was attended by prominent figures from across Egypt's political spectrum, including leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group whose associated political party has won nearly half the seats in parliament. Members of the ruling military council that took power after Mubarak's Feb. 11 ouster also attended, as well as the visiting top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, Jeffrey Feltman. Coptic Pope Shenouda III commended their presence and appealed for national unity for "the sake of Egypt." The 88-year-old church leader said: "For the first time in the history of the cathedral, it is packed with all types of Islamist leaders in Egypt. They all agree . . . on the stability of this country and in loving it, and working for it and to work with the Copts as one hand for the sake of Egypt." Coptic Christians comprise an estimated 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 85 million. Sources: Articles by ENI News, ReligionClause.com,and Njadvara Musa and Sarah El Deeb for the Associated Press

egypt world watch list boko haram ayo oritsejafor christian association of nigeria muslim brotherhood pope shenouda iii coptic christians copts nigeria christians islamism persecution north korea open doors

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Christian persecution continues worldwide

15 Jan 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

On his way to becoming a prophet, young Samuel learned how to hear and respond to the call of God, we learn in Sunday’s first reading. In many countries, Christians who dare to do the same openly risk persecution. The international Christian organization Open Doors released its annual World Watch List this week, naming the 50 countries where it says Christians face the worst persecution--and the situation is not improving. For the tenth year running North Korea topped the list. Christianity has been driven so far underground in North Korea, Open Doors said, that parents wait until their children are old enough to understand the dangers of practicing their faith before teaching them about it. The organization also estimated that between 50,000 and 70,000 Christian are currently interned in labor camps in North Korea. For the first time in the 20 years the list has been compiled, the situation for Christians did not improve last year in any country, Open Doors said. Christians also are under attack in Nigeria, where the radical Muslim Boko Haram sect killed 44 people after it promised to murder Christians living in the predominately Muslim north of the country. Speaking Saturday to journalists, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, vowed the group's members would adequately protect themselves from the sect. He declined to offer specifics, raising concerns about retaliation. "We have decided to work out means to defend ourselves against these senseless killings," Oritsejafor said. He added: "We cannot sit back and watch people being slaughtered like animals every day, going to the church, shooting people, killing them. This is unacceptable." In Egypt, Coptic Orthodox Christians last weekend celebrated their first Christmas since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak and an escalation in violence associated with the growing power of Islamists. Celebrations of Orthodox Christmas began amid tight security and a show of national unity. Mass at Cairo's main cathedral was attended by prominent figures from across Egypt's political spectrum, including leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group whose associated political party has won nearly half the seats in parliament. Members of the ruling military council that took power after Mubarak's Feb. 11 ouster also attended, as well as the visiting top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, Jeffrey Feltman. Coptic Pope Shenouda III commended their presence and appealed for national unity for "the sake of Egypt." The 88-year-old church leader said: "For the first time in the history of the cathedral, it is packed with all types of Islamist leaders in Egypt. They all agree . . . on the stability of this country and in loving it, and working for it and to work with the Copts as one hand for the sake of Egypt." Coptic Christians comprise an estimated 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 85 million. Sources: Articles by ENI News, ReligionClause.com,and Njadvara Musa and Sarah El Deeb for the Associated Press

egypt world watch list boko haram ayo oritsejafor christian association of nigeria muslim brotherhood pope shenouda iii coptic christians copts nigeria christians islamism persecution north korea open doors

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With Nigerian election loss, Goodluck’s luck runs out

05 Apr 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalm refrain this Sunday captures the Easter mood perfectly: “Let us rejoice and be glad.” As his supporters rejoiced in the streets, victorious Nigerian presidential candidate Muhammadu Bhuhari accepted the gracious concession of the man he defeated, incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan. By magnanimously throwing in the towel after the stunning outcome of the election, Jonathan joined a growing list of African leaders who have accepted defeat gracefully, rather than reverting to the military coups of days gone by. The trend bodes well for democracy in Africa. Homily hint: Africa, like Latin America and parts of Asia, still struggles to throw off the yolk of centuries of colonial control. The first decades of a nation’s independence are often fraught with setbacks (see: early American history to the Civil War), but given time and the kind of goodwill on display in Nigeria this week, there is a way forward. For more on the Nigerian election, see: With Jonathan, Africa's list of good losers gets longer; Remarkable outcome in Nigeria’s election

elections nigeria democratic transition

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